# Integrations - Hot Chocolate

> Learn how to use the IExecutable interface to abstract data sources in Hot Chocolate.

Canonical source: https://chillicream.com/docs/hotchocolate/fetching-data/integrations

The `IExecutable` and `IExecutable<T>` interfaces abstract data sources in Hot Chocolate. Your data or domain layer can wrap a data source in an executable and pass it to the GraphQL layer. A resolver that returns `IExecutable<T>` is recognized as a list.

C#

```
public class User
{
    public string Name { get; }
}

public interface IUserRepository
{
    public IExecutable<User> FindAll();
}

public class Query
{
    public IExecutable<User> GetUsers(IUserRepository repo) =>
        repo.FindAll();
}
```

SDL

```
type Query {
    users: [User!]!
}
```

This abstraction completely decouples the GraphQL layer from database-specific knowledge.

Filtering, sorting, and projections can pick up the executable and apply logic to it. A database-specific provider is still needed for these features, but it is opaque to the GraphQL layer.

The execution engine calls `ToListAsync`, `FirstOrDefaultAsync`, or `SingleOrDefaultAsync` on the executable. The executable runs these operations in the most efficient way for the database.

## API

### Source

C#

```
object Source { get; }
```

The `Source` property holds the current state of the executable. For Entity Framework, this holds the `IQueryable`. For MongoDB, it is the `DbSet<T>` or `IAggregateFluent<T>`. `Source` is read-only. If you have a custom `IExecutable` implementation and need to change the source, create a method that returns a new executable with the new source.

### ToListAsync

C#

```
ValueTask<IList> ToListAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken);
```

Returns a list of items.

### FirstOrDefaultAsync

C#

```
ValueTask<object?> FirstOrDefaultAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken);
```

Returns the first element of the sequence, or a default value if the sequence contains no elements.

### SingleOrDefaultAsync

C#

```
ValueTask<object?> SingleOrDefaultAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken);
```

Returns the only element of the sequence, or a default value if no element exists. Throws an exception if more than one element satisfies the condition.

### Print

C#

```
string Print();
```

Prints the executable in its current state. This is useful for debugging and logging the generated query.

## Example

The following shows the Entity Framework implementation:

C#

```
public class EntityFrameworkExecutable<T> : QueryableExecutable<T>
{
    public IQueryable<T> Source { get; }

    object IExecutable.Source => Source;

    public EntityFrameworkExecutable(IQueryable<T> queryable) : base(queryable)
    {
    }

    public QueryableExecutable<T> WithSource(IQueryable<T> source)
    {
        return new QueryableExecutable<T>(source);
    }

    public override async ValueTask<IList> ToListAsync(
        CancellationToken cancellationToken) =>
        await Source.ToListAsync(cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);

    public override async ValueTask<object?> FirstOrDefaultAsync(
        CancellationToken cancellationToken) =>
        await Source.FirstOrDefaultAsync(cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);

    public override async ValueTask<object?> SingleOrDefaultAsync(
        CancellationToken cancellationToken) =>
        await Source.SingleOrDefaultAsync(cancellationToken).ConfigureAwait(false);

    public override string Print() => Source.ToQueryString();
}
```

## Next Steps

- [Entity Framework integration](https://chillicream.com/docs/hotchocolate/fetching-data/integrations/entity-framework) for EF Core executables
- [MongoDB integration](https://chillicream.com/docs/hotchocolate/fetching-data/integrations/mongodb) for MongoDB executables
- [Filtering](https://chillicream.com/docs/hotchocolate/fetching-data/filtering) for applying filters to executables
[Edit this page on GitHub](https://github.com/ChilliCream/graphql-platform/edit/main/website/content/docs/hotchocolate/fetching-data/integrations/index.md)

Last updated on **July 01, 2026** by **Tobias Tengler**